Book: title 'Above and Beyond the call of duty'

THE NOVEL BY a new author for the summer season. Copyright 2015. Just after you finish your summer reading list...

a novel by a Philadelphia author to start your FALL reading.

"Cane Fields Burning" is a great e-book by author

R. Clark Bennett

You don't need a Kindle or an iPad for this modern 'who-done-it'. A story of suspense, emotion and international surprise

Book available in the e-book format January 2015

Warrior: Above and beyond the call of duty, a storyline, of passion, battles, sun n' surf, warrior tactics, angels and believers

>>>>If you have not guessed; yes the photo is sugarcane.

See you on the beach

Clark , a member of a special USCG team, as he is called again into the service of his country. He was born 'to the sea'; his grandfather a Navy man of World War II USA duty.

The author has us travel from one shore beach to another.

From the oil-crusted gulf states along the panhandle of Florida up to the beaches of Cape May in New Jersey then onto the sands of Havanna; soon to be the 51st state.

Meet Jessica as she leaves the white wooden shower outside a rented dune-fronted cottage finding herself in between the forearms of an elite member of the US armed services.

and Ms. Jessica Cane (AUSA) a positioned Federal attorney:

He carried the weapon; she the smile.

Within a burnt field of sugarcane the tale opens with a charred body in a 'carmel' odored field northwest of New Orleans, in the sweat-deep hot Red River area just inland from the oil pods of the Gulf.

And here is where the United States Attorney's office meets the local sheriff.

The law enforcement badges were shining as were the damp covered flesh of the finders.

Here is where a southern sun simmers a cajun meal for those to far from town.And Jessica asks, " So this is southern hospitality?"

the charred remains each must of thought, "Why here, why this sugar cane field?" The local sheriiff's office had not had a murder or suicide in years. And certainly not here, not here in a burned out field northwest of the Red River.

call-named 'angel'.

'Never would they be named,

never would he tell his story,

never would he marry,

always would he cry at sleep.

And atop within a clump of palm branches he sat strapped around him was the 'believer'. He 'angel' in the sky was his call sign; his weapon, as he named them, the 'believer', a sniper grade German-designed long rifle. This wet-suited angel had arrived on the island nearly 13 hours ago under the dew of a Cuban morning.

And he did not know those that he served.

He knew only his duty;

one of protecting those that would arrive at dark.'

Clark was born 'to the sea'; his grandfather a Navy man of World War II USA duty. This 'Coastie' traveled from the oil-crusted gulf states along the panhandle of Florida up to the beaches of Cape May in New Jersey then onto the sands of Havanna.

He met Jessica as she leaves the white wooden steps outside a rented beach-front cottage finding herself in between the forearms of an elite gentle man.

on the southern most coast of New Jersey

"Frank Eustace, not much of a fisherman, grew to over six feet by summer work along the docks on islands off the coast of New York. But now Frank jigged his line as he stood at a white rented victorian- style cottage on the inlet beach not 400 yards from the station in Cape May. Duty called.

The Jersey sole flip-flopped onto the nailed decking. The moment before the 12 inch blade slid under the scales uncovering the white meal from this Jersey bottom flounder, Frank reached for a Winston, and a chilled Coors Lite. Lt. Frank Eustace USN,ruggedly handsome, hard-charger, ex-Annapolis fullback letterman, was not familiar with the south New Jersey coast. The lieutenant had recently spent considerable time training in the cold waters of upstate New York. The Finger Lake area's deep water termperatures were near perfect for the scuba equipment tests needed by the Coast Guard.

With a pinch of salt, a touch of pepper, a few ounces of a less-expensive white wine and Frank placed the wrapped dinner on the BBQ.

Susana would step from the cornered deck onto dunes described as near powder and heated by this summer sun.

A platter of sliced roasted peppers, a creamy mozzarella,a trig or two from the hosts herb garden and a final splash of sunflower oil matched the flakey sole for two.

She raised her voice to say " Great breeze " as she poured the uncorked Pinot.

It was after 10 by the shine from a 100 lightening bugs.

The bugle sounded from the station reminding them of the true mission at hand; that tonight was special but the hours ahead would need warrior tactics. "Enjoy the wine, Frank, " she soberly thought. He just laughed as he poured seven more ounces."

Within a burnt field of sugarcane the case opens with a charred body in a 'carmel' odored field northwest of New Orleans, in the sweat-deep hot Red River area just inland from the oil pods of the Gulf.

And here is where the United States Attorney's office meets the local sheriff.

The law enforcement badges were shining as were the damp covered flesh of the finders.

Here is where a southern sun simmers a cajun meal for those to far from town

Jessica Cane

More of the novel....

"Hard to describe-that's her! Jessica Cane is hard; hard body, strong willed and no show of emotion. That does not mean, 'that what you see is what you get'. No, she is not a cliche'. Jessica was from a small farm town. But she was no small-town girl. She never was; never would be. Jessica didn't play to win; she never 'played' and usually won. She was never intimate on the surface; never open with anyone. A warm whisper to her voice; a voice everyone wanted to listen. Jessica could be forceful withourt raising her tone. This was another Jessica trait. A trait some believed matured at the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. Jessica had been this college's honor graduate. And not far from her dad's Chestertown farmhouse. Jessica wasn't a charmer;she was the charm. Her scottish pink complexion presented beauty as if from a summer evening's horizon predicting tomorrow's fair weather."

a CIA scientist

More from the novel...

"Carol Benson, light green eyes, tan arms hidden under her summer business suit and short cut brown tinted hair, relaxed in a soft-cushioned red chair across from Austin. Her neatness, an attraction to Austin, provided an obvious expectation of her work. She is a badge holder from the telescopic-image section at Langley. Carol, a young 34 both in physical and philosophic terms, she could interpret the satellite data sheets better than most senior technicians at CIA. Her assigned post-doctorate fellowship out of Princeton University was a year at the Kodak Lab in upstate New York. This was her ticket-punching station. Carol experienced a mentor-supported and sophisticated exposure to the latest laser technology that most scientists cannot receive at a university nor afford. Kodak had been working under a near billion dollar funding source from the DOD. Digital enhancement of technology generated imaging received from the edge of this planet was real 21st century exploration. If Columbus had this imaging ability he could have sailed right up the James River or we could have eliminated the need for Lewis to meet Clark. Carol was a first class act; a true lady by nature; a true bitch if required.. "

"Frank Eustace, over six feet , worked by summer light along the docks on islands off the coast of New York. But now , years later, Frank jigged his line as he stood at a white rented victorian- style cottage on the inlet beach not 400 yards from station # 254, in Cape May. Duty and country had called.

The Jersey sole flip-flopped onto the nailed decking. The moment before the 12 inch blade slid under the scales uncovering the white meal from this Jersey bottom flounder, Frank reached for a Winston, and a chilled Coors Lite.

This Lt. Frank Eustace of the US Navy,was ruggedly handsome, hard-charger, ex-Annapolis fullback letterman, and not familiar with the south New Jersey coast. The lieutenant had recently spent considerable time training in the cold waters of upstate New York. The Finger Lake area's deep water termperatures were near perfect for the scuba equipment tests needed by the Coast Guard.

With a pinch of salt, a touch of pepper, a few ounces of a less-expensive white wine and Frank placed the wrapped dinner on the BBQ.

Ms. Carter, a slim-fitted beach coat, stepped from the cornered deck onto dunes described as near powder and heated by this summer sun.

A platter of diced roasted peppers, a creamy mozzarella,a trig or two from the hosts herb garden and a final splash of sunflower oil matched the flakey sole for a dinner for two.

She raised her voice to say " Great breeze " as she poured the uncorked Pinot.

It was after 10 by the shine from a 100 lightening bugs.

The bugle sounded from the station reminding them of the true mission at hand; that tonight was special but the hours ahead would need warrior tactics. "Enjoy the wine, Frank, " she soberly thought.

The veteran navy man just laughed as he poured seven more ounces."

The early evening sky appeared as a cathedral of clouds. Clarke recalled the 4th century,Alexander the Great introducing into his court a form of genuflection, a form of etiquette. And in the Byzantine Empire, senators were required to genuflect to the emperor as a tribute. Clarke thought that this day too, as were all days, moments to be honored, that the days' end too should be praised.

And as the two vodkas arrived he turned romantically to Jessica with his best prose, "Jessica, I think this evening sunset just genuflected onto the marsh grass".

Jessica had rented a Honda. They had traveled north, up the parkway, to visit with former classmates at a town called 'Short Beach' along the Great Egg Harbor Bay.

Clark spoke again as he squeezed an orange slice, "This high tide covered the iron-sulfate aroma we both talked about as we crossed over from the mainland."

Her reply was simply, "But this view, this bar, this day has been special, should I call Frank and Susana?"

"Sure, maybe they missed the turn?" Clark replied.

He watched her pick up her iPhone as the sun genuflected onto the ocean.

Clark continued, "Do they have any idea why you called them last week, are they in the loop on this?"

"No need for them to know, Frank's a great guy I'm sure he only thinks since we happen to be in Jersey and since we hadn't seen them since the Admirals get-together, I'm sure even Susana simply figures this cocktail hour is just a dear, sweet idea from a dear, sweet old sailor", Jessica says with her smile.

Lt. Frank Eustace and Lt. Susana V. Montasro are both USNA graduates with careers of interest to Jessica. Susana left the Navy a few months ago after completing her required service time. Susana's next assignment was with the hope of starting a family. She had been stationed on the island of Cuba within the Naval Criminal Investigative Service unit for 27 months.

The Presidential Seal appeared on the covered report placed on the President's desk in the early summer morning with temperatures sure to reach 100 degrees again. It was July 4th.

The oversized font and boldly highlighted first line of the report of the mission read as follows:

" At 03:23, White House time, the men and women of the United States Coast Guard landed their first offensive force on foreign soil...".

The Washington Post in a grand overstatement reported later that day that this was "...the second but successful bay-of- pigs had occured'.

The President , standing in the dew covered grass , continued to the few gathered on the south lawn, "... for service to the United States of America above and beyond the call of his country..."

And the tears were seen only from behind her sunglasses as Jessica sat in her white summer skirt.

As she stood to kiss him; and looking over his shoulder in the direction of the gothic white pillars of the Office of the President of the USA she whispered,

"We're going to the beach."

The heavy in this novel,Clark, would have trained on such a boat. Enjoy the Video

The benefits of burning sugarcane are:

An overall lower cost of production that benefits

farmers and consumers

Allows more efficient harvesting of sugarcane

in the field

Reduces the number of hauling units on the

highways delivering sugarcane to the factory

for processing, thus reducing wear and tear on

public roads

Decreases the volume of material to be processed

by the factories

Shortens the harvest season by as much as 10

percent

Increases the yield of sugar recovered per ton of

sugarcane by the factories and improves

overall quality of the sugar produced

Reduces wear and tear on field and factory

equipment

Reduces energy expenditures in the field and by

the factory

What will happen if farmers are not able to burn sugarcane?

The ability of farmers to burn sugarcane is a significant

economic factor for the survival of the individual

farmer and the sugarcane industry. The sugarcane

plant consists of about 75 percent to 80 percent net

cane (stalks) from which the juice is extracted and the

sugar crystalized. The other 20 percent to 25 percent

of the plant consists of leafy material, including tops,

from which little or no sugar is produced. This leafy

material is called trash. Burning sugarcane before

harvest removes from one-half to two-thirds of this

trash that would otherwise contribute nothing to sugar

production. Further, it is estimated that, by not burning

this trash, the industry would spend more than $24

million in transportation and processing costs. Research

data show that there is an actual reduction of 3

pounds in the yield of recoverable sugar per gross ton

of sugarcane for each 1 percent of trash processed by

the factory. There is currently no profitable or effective

way to deal with this large volume of trash by

mechanical means.

Until proven technology allows economically efficient

harvesting without burning, it is critical that growers

and processors do the best job possible with regard to

smoke and ash management. Louisiana is not the only

state, nor is sugar production the only industry, facing

this challenge. Every industry that uses prescribed

burning recognizes that a cost-effective mechanism for

reducing or eliminating open field burning is a research

topic of high importance. Further, because of

current low domestic sugar prices, the farmer would be

hard pressed to survive without burning to reduce

production costs and improve quality of the product

delivered to the factory for processing.